Accelerated Executive Development Program

ACCELERATING INDIVIDUAL, TEAM, and
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

COURSE OVERVIEW

Business Tools that Turn Silent Resistance into Active Collaboration

INTRODUCTION

Individuals and organizations are hard pressed to keep pace with the increasing complexity and ambiguity within the problems they face, the deci­sions they must make, and the critical relation­ships they must maintain.  Faced with new chal­lenges and limited resources, some businesses work harder and longer at “more of the same”, not realizing that their customary approaches may be part of the problem.  Other firms invest heavily in change initia­tives, only to find months or years later that the same problems have resur­faced in new forms. When organizations most need new levels of efficiency, creativity, and coordinated action, energy and resources that should be directed toward innovation and production are often consumed by politics, defensiveness, and excessive complaining.  To remedy these issues, organizations need:

• Reliable methods for continuous learning that produce measurable results, while assuring innovation at ever increasing speed;
• Communication that fosters new levels of openness, safety, trust, and increasing productivity and effectiveness with all stakeholders;
• Transforming resistance to change into genuine commitment to transcend current best practices; and
• Assuring the quality of implementation and measuring the rate of return for the organization.

Collaborative Action Technology (CAT) provides practical methods and tools to address these issues, customized to the specific needs and charac­teristics of your business.

FUNCTIONAL TOOLS FOR ADDRESSING YOUR MOST DIFFICULT ISSUES

Collaborative Action Technology consists of a small set of simple tools and methods that accelerate individual, team, and organizational effectiveness and learning.  Using the CAT tools, one can set up politically safe, productive discussions of issues that are difficult to discuss openly with the relevant stakeholders and collaboratively resolve them.  Historically, these issues are avoided because (1) they have been perceived as threatening or “out of bounds,” 2) they are so deeply ingrained as to have escaped notice, or (3) the individuals assume that things will not change even if they bring them up.  CAT users learn how to identify the silent obstacles to change and turn them to the organization’s advantage.  Specifically, they:

• Access, in an ethical and productive manner, the hidden issues beneath surface discussions through open, safe, ethical, and productive conversations;
• Distinguish true facts and real data from untested—and often damaging—assumptions;
• Dismantle the mechanisms of rumor and the distribution of false information;
• Create a means for organizations to jointly design effective solutions to stubborn problems with relevant stakeholders;
• Implement change immediately—change that can be assigned concrete, bottom-line value; and
• Determine the cost, in time, wasted energy and dollars, of continuing to conduct “business as usual.”

EASY, ETHICAL AND ADAPTABLE

CAT tools have been expressly developed, tested and applied to improve productivity while producing new levels of human dignity and innovation.  Through a process of invitation, not manipulation, participants draw on creative resources they typically have not accessed before. The tools are adaptable to any level of your organization and can be acquired through your choice of learning options including consulting, one-to-one coaching, and training seminars tailored to your organization’s needs.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT

Conver­sa­tions and interactions in the classroom become the raw material for teaching and practicing the CAT tools; thus the class is designed to be highly interactive and exceedingly relevant to each individual’s business needs.  Many participants report that learning CAT is a profound experience with ramifications and benefits well beyond their business applications. The course should not be undertaken lightly.  Although CAT typically produces substantial business value from the first day one begins to practice it, full assimilation requires a commitment to rigorous thinking and active participa­tion in class.

EXPERIENCE CAT IN ACTION

To experience CAT in action, call Collaborative Action at (707) 987-3056.  A consultant is available to discuss how you can test CAT’s power to initiate dynamic change for you, your colleagues, and your organization.  In one 30-minute telephone conversation, you will begin to apply CAT’s basic principles to your chosen critical business issue and be invited to measure the resulting value for yourself.  Call and see how Collaborative Action can be your partner for positive change.